Heat exchanger

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is a heat exchanger in which a header in the heat exchanger is made of a material of plastic so that a regulator plate to define a passage of pipe can be formed freely. Also, not only a passage between pipes but also a passage between fine tubes in the same pipe can be formed. Accordingly, formation of a passage to accomplish maximal heat exchange efficiency is possible.  
     In addition, the heat exchange performance is improved by forming a more number of fine tubes having a less small diameter, compared to the pipes of the material of aluminum, using the pipes of the material of plastic.  
     The heat exchanger according to the present invention constructed as above can accomplish the improvement of heat exchange performance by the maximum of 30% over the heat exchanger of the material of aluminum.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates generally to a heat exchanger, andmore particularly to a heat exchanger, which improves an efficiency ofheat exchange by optimizing shapes of a pipe and a header and forming apassage of coolant between fine tubes constituting the pipe.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Nowadays, a demand for air conditioners has been steadilyincreased due to an improvement of a standard of living, and accordinglythe air conditioners that have been conventionally used in alarge-scaled unit are being widely diffused into households.

[0005] In general, these air conditioners achieve an air conditioningthrough a compression step of converting low temperature-low pressuregas coolant into high temperature-high pressure gas coolant, acondensation step of converting the high temperature-high-pressure gascoolant into intermediate temperature-high-pressure liquid coolant, anexpansion step of converting the intermediate temperature-high pressureliquid coolant into low temperature-low pressure liquid coolant, and anevaporation step of converting the low temperature-low pressure liquidcoolant into low temperature-low pressure gas coolant.

[0006] Considering detailed devices performing these steps, thecompression step, the condensation step, the expansion step, and theevaporation steps are performed in a compressor, a condenser, anexpansion value, and an evaporator, respectively.

[0007] At this time, whether an air conditioner is a cooler or heaterdepends on indoor or outdoor installation positions of the condenser andthe evaporator of the devices. If the condenser is located in theindoor, the air conditioner is the heater. If the evaporator is locatedin the indoor, the air conditioner is the cooler.

[0008] The condenser and the evaporator are generally comprised of aheat exchanger. The heat exchanger is an apparatus for directly orindirectly contacting two kinds of fluid having differenttemperatures-each other such that heat is exchanged.

[0009] Specially, the heat exchanger is comprised of pipes in a zigzagform for heat exchange, pins located between the zigzag-formed pipes forincreasing an efficiency of heat exchange, and a fan for supplying airfor the zigzag-formed pipes. By the way, when a small air conditioner isrequired such as in a household, a small heat exchanger with a materialof aluminum is used. In this case, considering the material of aluminum,the heat exchanger with a different structure is used.

[0010] More particularly, the heat exchanger with the material ofaluminum includes a fan for producing a flow of air, pipes in a platebar shape for a passage of water, a header located at both ends of thepipes for forming a passage of water between the pipes, and a regulatorplate inserted into the header for regulating the passage in the header.

[0011] Here, as the header, a cylindrical or semi-cylindrical shapeheader is generally used. The cylindrical header is manufactured in sucha manner that pipe insertion holes are formed at a constant interval andthen the pipes are inserted and assembled into the pipe insertion holes.The semi-cylindrical header, which is separated into insertion portionsinto which the pipes are inserted and cover portions for covering theinsertion portion, is manufactured in such a manner that the pipes areinserted into the pipe insertion holes formed on the insertion portionsand then are engaged with the cover portion.

[0012]FIG. 1 shows a structure of a conventional heat exchanger.Referring to FIG. 1, as described earlier, the conventional heatexchanger includes a fan 10 for producing a flow of air by a force ofrotation; a plurality of pipes 20 layered vertically by an appropriatenumber in which heat is exchanged due to the flow of air produced by thefan 10; a plurality of pins 30 formed by a plate folded repeatedly inorder to increase the efficiency of heat exchange and adhered closely tothe pipes 20 between the pipes; a header 40 located at both ends of thepipes 20 for forming a passage of water between the pipes; and aregulator plate 50 inserted into the header 40 for regulating thepassage in the header.

[0013] The heat exchanger constructed as above accomplishes a heatexchange while the air produced by the fan 10 passes through the pipesprovided with the pins. Particularly, an efficient heat exchange can beaccomplished by inserting the regulator plate 50 into an appropriateposition inside the header so that a coolant passage is formed in avertical direction.

[0014] However, such an approach has a problem that the efficiency ofheat exchange is not sufficient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mindthe above problem occurring in the prior art, and an object of thepresent invention is to provide a heat exchanger which is capable ofaccomplishing a more efficient heat exchange by forming a coolantpassage between fine tubes constituting the pipes as well as between thepipes, as compared to the conventional approach by which the coolantpassage is formed only between the pipes.

[0016] In order to accomplish the above object, the present inventionprovides a heat exchanger comprising a plurality of pipes, eachincluding a plurality of fine tubes; and a header to enable formation ofa passage between fine tubes in the same pipe as well as between thepipes.

[0017] Preferably, each of said plurality of pipes is made of a plasticmaterial so that a plurality of fine tubes can be formed.

[0018] Preferably, said header is made of a plastic material so that aregulator plate inside said header can be freely formed. Accordingly, itis possible to facilitate formation of a passage between fine tubes inthe same pipe as well as between the pipes due to a free construction ofthe regulator plate into the header. Accordingly, there provides abenefit of an increase in an efficiency of heat exchange.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] The above and other objects, features and other advantages of thepresent invention will be more clearly understood from the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

[0020]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a structure of a conventional heatexchanger;

[0021]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a heat exchanger accordingto a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0022]FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a heat exchanger accordingto an another preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

[0023]FIG. 4 is a state diagram showing a comparison in heat exchangeperformance between a heat exchanger using a header and pipes of aplastic material according to the present invention and a conventionalheat exchanger using a header and pipes of an aluminum material.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0024] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodimentsof the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings.

[0025]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a heat exchanger accordingto a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Referring to FIG. 2, the heat exchanger according to thepreferred embodiment includes a fan 10 for producing a flow of air by aforce of rotation; a plurality of pipes 20 layered vertically by anappropriate number in which heat is exchanged due to the flow of airproduced by the fan 10; a plurality of pins 130 formed by a plate foldedrepeatedly in order to increase the efficiency of heat exchange andadhered closely to the pipes 20 between the pipes; a header 140 locatedat both ends of the pipes 20 for forming a passage between the finetubes in the same pipe as well as between the pipes 20; and a regulatorplate 150 inserted into the header 140 for regulating the passage in theheader.

[0027] More particularly, each of the pipes 20 is referred to as amicro-tube assuming a shape of rectangular parallelepiped and iscomprised of a plurality of fine tubes. The number of fine tubes istypically 9 or 10. The reason for such a division of the fine tubes isthat a partition for increasing durability is formed in the middle ofpipe since aluminum is frail. Like this, the pipes 20 of the material ofaluminum is suitable to a small heat exchanger since a heat exchangeefficiency is high and a less space is required, compared to a heatexchanger using typical cupper pipes.

[0028] On the other hand, pins 30 of the material of aluminum areadhered between the pipes 20 in order to increase the heat exchangeefficiency more.

[0029] The header 140 is a member adhered to both ends of a group ofpipes 20 which are multi-layered for forming a passage between the pipesby properly constructing the regulator plate 150 in a middle portioninside the header 140.

[0030] In this embodiment, the regulator plate 150 can be freelyconstructed by manufacturing the header 140 employing a material ofplastic through a plastic heat-melting.

[0031] Conventionally, since the header used the same material ofaluminum as the pipe and so the regulator plate was mounted such thatonly a passage between the pipes could be defined due to a problem ofwelding between metals, formation of a passage could not be optimized.However, in this embodiment, since the regulator plate of the materialof plastic is constructed, an optimal passage formation is possible.

[0032] Referring to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the header ispartitioned into A, B, C and D by the regulator plate. Namely, in thisembodiment, the regulator plate mounted in only a horizontal directionin the past is also mounted in a vertical direction to enable formationof a passage with a precise capacity.

[0033] In this embodiment, it can be seen that the passage is configuredsuch that the coolant is flown in order of A, B, C and D, and, duringthis procedure, is flown into passages formed by fine tubes in the samepipe.

[0034]FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a heat exchanger accordingto an another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] Referring to FIG. 3, the heat exchanger according to the anotherpreferred embodiment includes a fan 10 for producing a flow of air by aforce of rotation; a plurality of pipes 120, each including a pluralityof fine tubes, layered vertically by an appropriate number in which heatis exchanged due to the flow of air produced by the fan 10; a header 140located at both ends of the pipes 120 for forming a passage between thefine tubes in the same pipe as well as between the pipes 120; and aregulator plate 150 inserted into the header 140 for regulating thepassage in the header.

[0036] Here, it can be seen that the header 140 is the same as theheader of FIG. 2, but the pipes 120 are changed differently from thepipes of FIG. 2.

[0037] In this embodiment, the pipes 120 made of the material of plasticare different in structure from conventional aluminum pipes, consideringthe material of plastic.

[0038] First, there is no pin in this embodiment. The reason for this isthat the provision of a pin of material of plastic has no meaning due toa low heat transfer capability of the material of plastic while pins ofmaterial of aluminum can transfer heat to pipes to which the pins areadhered due to a high heat transfer capability of the material ofaluminum.

[0039] Next, diameters of the fine tubes of the material of plastic arevery smaller than those of the fine tubes of the material of aluminum.Accordingly, a number of fine tubes constitute one pipe.

[0040] Among the coolant occupying a heat resistance of 13%, a pipe walloccupying a heat resistance of 7%, and air occupying a heat resistanceof 80% when the whole of heat resistance is assumed as 100%, the pipesof the material of plastic constructed as above place an important pointon increase of an efficiency of heat exchange accomplished in the air,while an efficiency of heat exchanger accomplished in the pipe wall issomewhat abandoned. This is because diameters of the fine tubes of thematerial of plastic are very smaller than those of the fine tubes of thematerial of aluminum, and accordingly more fine tubes can be formed inequal width, compared to the fine tubes of the material of aluminum.

[0041] Therefore, the entire heat exchange efficiency is increased, andcan be more increased by using the header 140 of the material of plasticdescribed in FIG. 2.

[0042]FIG. 4 is a state diagram showing a comparison in heat exchangeperformance between the heat exchanger using the header and pipes of theplastic material described as above and the conventional heat exchangerusing the header and pipes of the aluminum material. It can be seen fromthe state diagram that a heat exchange performance is improved by about20-30% in an interval of a typically applied air flow 0.5-0.8.

[0043] A unit in the left of the state diagram represents a total heattransfer coefficient. The multiplication of the total heat transfercoefficient and a temperature difference is a heat capacity, i.e., aheat exchange capacity. The temperature difference means a differencebetween a temperature of coolant introduced into the heat exchanger anda temperature of coolant for cooling air.

[0044] As described above, according to the present invention, theheader in the heat exchanger is made of the material of plastic so thatthe regulator plate to define a passage of pipe can be formed freely.Also, not only a passage between the pipes but also a passage betweenthe fine tubes in the same pipe can be formed. Accordingly, formation ofa passage to accomplish maximal heat exchange efficiency is possible.

[0045] In addition, the heat exchange performance is improved by forminga more number of fine tubes having a less small diameter, compared tothe pipes of the material of aluminum, using the pipes of the materialof plastic.

[0046] The heat exchanger according to the present invention constructedas above can accomplish the improvement of heat exchange performance bythe maximum of 30% over the heat exchanger of the material of aluminum.

[0047] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention havebeen disclosed for illustrative purposes, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be madein the present invention. Thus, it is intended that the presentinvention covers the modifications and variations of this inventionprovided they come within the scope of the appended claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A heat exchanger comprising: a plurality of pipes, each including a plurality of fine tubes; and at least one header to enable formation of a passage between said plurality of fine tubes in the same pipe as well as between said plurality of pipes.
 2. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of pipes is made of a plastic material.
 3. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein said at least one header is made of a plastic material.
 4. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein said at least one header includes a regulator plate mounted in not only a horizontal direction but also a vertical direction to enable formation of a passage with a precise capacity.
 5. A heat exchanger comprising: a fan for producing a flow of air by a force of rotation; a plurality of pipes, each including a plurality of fine tubes, layered vertically by an appropriate number in which heat is exchanged due to the flow of air produced by said fan; a plurality of pins formed by a plate folded repeatedly in order to increase an efficiency of heat exchange and adhered closely to said plurality of pipes between said plurality of pipes; at least one header located at both ends of said plurality of pipes for forming a passage between said plurality of fine tubes in the same pipe as well as between said plurality of pipes; and a regulator plate inserted into said at least one header for regulating the passage said at least one header.
 6. The heat exchanger according to claim 5, wherein each of said plurality of pipes is made of a plastic material.
 7. The heat exchanger according to claim 5, wherein each of said plurality of pins is made of an aluminum material.
 8. The heat exchanger according to claim 5, wherein said at least one header is made of a plastic material.
 9. The heat exchanger according to claim 5, wherein said at least one header includes a regulator plate mounted in not only a horizontal direction but also a vertical direction to enable formation of a passage with a precise capacity.
 10. The heat exchanger comprising: a fan for producing a flow of air by a force of rotation; a plurality of pipes, each including a plurality of fine tubes, layered vertically by an appropriate number in which heat is exchanged due to the flow of air produced by said fan; at least one header located at both ends of said plurality of pipes for forming a passage between said plurality of fine tubes in the same pipe as well as between said plurality of pipes; and a regulator plate inserted into said at least one header for regulating the passage in said at least one header.
 11. The heat exchanger according to claim 10, wherein each of said plurality of pipes is made of a plastic material.
 12. The heat exchanger according to claim 10, wherein said at least one header is made of a plastic material.
 13. The heat exchanger according to claim 10, wherein said at least one header includes a regulator plate mounted in not only a horizontal direction but also a vertical direction to enable formation of a passage with a precise capacity. 